Artificial ice making apparatus



May 2, 1933. G. L. POWNALL 1,906,412

ARTIFICIAL ICE MAKING APPARATUS Filed June 12, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 J5insu latian. 1

\ l E BYW F lNV[INT,0R K AITTOR'NEY y 2, 1933- G. L. POWNALL ARTIFICIALICE MAKING APPARATUS Filed June 12, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 [N VE N TOR ATTORNE Y y 2, 1933- G. L. POWNALL 1,906,412

ARTIFICIAL ICE MAKING APPARATUS Filed June 12, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 WQ9 I F INVENTORS M Patented May 2, 1933 GEORGE L. .POWNALL, OF ATLANTA,GEORGIA ARTIFICIAL ICE MAKING APPARATUS Application filed June 12,

My invention relates to improvements in artificial ice making apparatus.One of its objects is to provide improved apparatus whereby a greaterweight of ice may be frozen in a specified freezing space within aspecified period. Another object is to materially reduce the first costand renewals of the freezing equipment. Another object is to provideimproved freezing apparatus adapted to freeze from the exterior walls ofa can or container inwardly, and means employed for a portion of thefreezing period and operation to freeze from the interior toward thewalls of the container. Another object is to provide improved apparatusadapted to freeze from the exterior walls of a can or container inwardlyand from the interior of the container outwardlyfor a portion of thefreezing period and to remove the interior freezing apparatus andcomplete the freezin operation from the exterior Walls inwardly to closethe core spaces and produce solid ice blocks. Another object is toprovide improved freezing apparatus adapted to freeze from the exteriorwalls of a can or container inwardly and from the interior outwardlycovering a portion of the freezing operation and to remove the interiorfreez-. ing apparatus and withdraw. the unfrozen water from the corespace and refill the core space and the space left by removal of theinternal freezing apparatus, and then finish the freezing operation fromthe exterior of the container to'form a solid ice block. Another objectis to provide an improved rawwater freezing apparatus adapted to freezefrom the exterior walls of a can or container inwardly and from theinterior outwardly covering a portion of the freezing operation,employing agitating means to free the ice from gas bubbles andimpurities or foreign matter, and to remove the interior freezingapparatus, discharge the impurities andcorewater, and refill the corespace and the space left by removal of the interior freezing apparatus,and completing the freezing operation from the exterior to form. a solidice block substantially free from impurities and imprisoned gas bubbles.My invention also comprises certain details of form and'ar- 1929. SerialNo. 370,201.

rangement and combination of components, all of which will be fully setforth in the description of the accompanying drawings, in which: p p 1Fig. 1 is a plan of an ice freezing tank or unit embodying myimprovements.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a detachable brine circulating pipeconnection, detached.-

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of another brinecirculating pipeconnection, detached.

F 4: is a perspective View of another .brine circulating pipeconnection, detached.

Fig. 5is a vertical section through the tank or unit shown in Fig. 1,being taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1. V Fig. 6 is aperspective view of oneof the mterior freezing members detached. i

Fig. 7 is a central vertical section through one of the stationarilymounted freezing cans before the interior freezing member is detached,taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 1.' p Fig. 8 is a view similar toFig. 7 afterthe interior freezer member has been removed and showing a completed iceblock. o i Fig. '9 is a view similar to Fig. 7, illustrat mg amodification in which a detachable ice can is employed. I .i

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9. after the interior freezing memberhas been detached, and showing a completed iceblock.

Fig. 11 illustrates a modification of Fig. 6;

The accompanying drawings illustrate embodlments of my invention inwhich 15 represents a freezing tank or freezing tank unit of theraw-water type, in which tank are either permanently or detachablylocated a series of ice cans or, ice molds 16. Theside walls of said icecans are in contact with the brine contained in the freezing tank 15.The lower ends of the ice cans areseated over openings 17 through thebottom of the tank 15. Pipe connections to the bottom, of the ice cansprovide for supplying precooled fresh water through a pipeline 18 torefill ll the ice cans in adesignated tank unit 15 at one operation. Airunderpressure is, sup plied to the lower portion of each ice moldthrough an air supply pipe20 and a series of air exit ports 21. The airis permitted to bubble up through the fresh waterin' the 100 tract fromthe quality orappearance of the" completed ice block. After theimpurecorewater has been drained away, the core spaces are adapted to berefilled with fresh water,

from the fresh water supply pipe 18. If desired the core spaces may berefilled with precooled distilled water, either by means of a separatewater supply pipe not shown or through the pipe 18 from a storage tankof distilled water. 7

Mounted centrally of each ice can and forming substantially a partitionto divide the ice can temporarily into two sections is an interiorfreezing member 24, which preferably comprises a closed sheet metalcham-- ber which extends from the bottom of the ice can at its lower endto a position slightly above the rim of theice can at its upper end. Thechamber within the freezing member 24 is relatively narrow, andpreferably terminates a short distance above the bottom of the ice can;A brine inlet tube 25 is sealed into the top wall ofthe freezing member24 and extends downwardly within the chamber of the freezing member 24to near the bottom of said chamber, and its lower fend held againstdisplacement by a strap 98. The upper end of the tube 25 is flanged toform a coupling seat. A detachable brine supply pipe 28 is provided witha central coupling member 29 detachably attached to a coupling member ofa permanently located-branch.

brine supply pipe 31. At each end of the pipe 28 is an elbow the freeend of which is provided with a coupling member 26 adapted to bedetachably coupled to the upper end of the tube 25 by means of camshaped arms 81 carried by a lever-82' which pivots upon across pincarried by the freezing member 24 close to the upper end ofthe tube 25.The arms 81 engage studs 83 carried by the elbow 26 to couple the pipe28 to the tubes 25. The middle section of the pipe 28 hasa couplingmember 29v which is attached detachably to a coupling member 30 of; apermanently located brinesupply pipe 31. Aseries of brine supply pipes31 are attached to a brine header 32, and said pipes 31 are each locatedbetween two rows of ice cans, along' the upper edge of one of the frametimbers 33, and below the ice can lids 34. Each supply pipe 28 isadapted to be connected centrally to a coupling member 30 of a pipe 31,while opposite ends ofsaid pipe 28 are connected to the inlet ends oftwo tubes 25, .to supply'brine to two freezing members 24, located inadjacent ice cans.

Each freezing member 24 is provided with a brine overflow tube 36 sealedinto the wall thereof and adapted to permit brine to overflow into thebrine tank 15, through a hole 38 bored through one of the frame timbers37. If desiredthe overflow tubes might be connected detachably to returnbrine conduits in place of being allowed to overflow into the brinetank; Eachbrine inlet tube 25 leads downwardly inside the freezingmember 24 and terminates near the bottom of the chamber within thefreezing member 24, so as to feed cold brine to the lower portion of thechamber in said freezing portion of the member 24, while the warmerbrine overflows from the upper portion of the chamber in the freezingmember 24 through the overflow tube 36, and thereby causes ice to buildup on the exterior of the freezing members 24 and to grow from thecenter of the ice can toward the exterior of the ice cans to therebymeet the ice forming upon the side walls of the ice cans and growingtherefrom inwardly. This freezing from the side walls inwardly and fromthe freezing. member 24 outwardlycauses the ice to form and practicallyfill the ice cans in about one-fourth of the tune required to freeze thecontents of the ice cans when freezing from the exterior only. When thefreezing has progressed from the eXte rior and from the interior. member24 until nearly all the water has been frozen, leaving only twosm'allcore spaces 40 and 41 located upon opposite sides of the freezing member24, the supply of cold brine to the header 32 and brine pipes 31 is cutoff and a. supply of relatively warmer brine is fed through the header32 and pipes 31 intothe chamber of the freezing members 24, until thefreezing members 24 are released from the ice blocks. The supply of warmbrine to the header 32 and pipes31 is then cut off, and a suction pumpor equivalent means is attached in place ofaforce pump to the header 32and pipes 31, which serves to withdraw all or part of the brine from thefreezing members 24 down to the lower ends of the brine supply tubes 25.The freezing members 24 may then be detached from the pipe members 28connecting them to the brine pipes 31, without danger of introducingbrine into the interior of the ice cans, and a crane chain may be hookedinto the eyes 42 of the freezing memhers 24 to lift the freezing members24 out of the ice cans; The core spaces are drained of any impurecore-water before the internal freezing members are detached. Eitherdistilled water orraw fresh water, which has been pro-cooled, issupplied to the cans in sufiicient quantity to fill the core spaces, andalso to'fill the space left upon removal of the freezing member 24,after said freezing mem= ber 24 has been detached. The'freezingoperationis then continued for a further relativly short period, until the waterin the core spaces and in the space from which the freezing member 24was removed has become solidified into a solid ice block. A hook or eyeor other member for attaching the ice block to a crane hook for use inharvesting the ice may be introduced into the core spaces, or into thespace left by the removal of the freezing member 24:, and frozen intothe block if desired.

After the block of ice has solidified, warm brine is introduced toreplace the cool brine in the freezing tank 15, to release the iceblocks from the side walls of the ice cans, and

the ice blocks are lifted from the ice .cans and stored for use. Thefreezing members 24 are then replaced and the ice cans refilled withfresh water, ready to commence a new freezing operation. Fresh raw-watermay be employed, or distilled water, or the ice blocks may be formedpartly from raw water and partly from distilled water.

In the modification Figs. 9 and 10, I have shown my improvements appliedto an ordinary detachable ice can instead of to a. stationary or fixedraw-water type of freezing tank unit. As illustrated in Fig. 9 the1nterior freezing member 50, corresponding to the freezing member 2a ofFigs. 1 and 5, is mounted in a. detachable ice can 51, and the ice canimmersed in the brine of a brine tank, and the freezing operationallowed to proceed until the contents of the can 51 has solidified withthe exception of the two small core spaces 52 and53, which contain theimpure core-water. This core water is withdrawn by means of a suctionpump, and flexible connection, and the freezing member detached an dremoved. The core spaces 52 and 53 and the space left by removal of thefreezing member 50 are then filled with clean fresh water, and thefreezing operation continued until the ice can is filled with a solidblock of ice as shown in Fig. 10, whereupon the can and ice block may bewithdrawn from the brine tank and the ice loosened and harvested in theusual way, and the can returned to the brine tank for a new operation.It will be noted that the freezing member 24 or 50 occupies a minimumamount of space, and hence rquires a. relatively small volume of waterto refill the space from which it is removed, thereby providing forfreezing the water employed to refill this space in arelatively shortperiod of time after refilling, due to the relatively small amount offreezing required and a reserve of negative energy stored in the nearlycompleted ice block.

In order to hold the internal freezing members in place within the icecans at their lower ends I preferably provide channels 64 centrallyacross the bottoms of the cans 16,

into which the lower ends or fins of the members '24 enter .to retainthe members 24 in. place. 7. V

It will be noted that the Water in the chambers 66 below thebottom ofthe cans 16 is shielded from the refrigerant partly by means of a heatinsulator, for instance a body of asphaltum 65 occupying the bottom ofthe and withdrawal spaces are in communication at their lower ends, andalso communicate Withthe unfrozen water in the chambers 66 below the canbottoms so that all these spaces may be refilled from the-pipes 18 andohamhere 66 at one operation. By draining the impure core-water beforereleasing the internal freezing members, no impure core water enters thewithdrawal spaces. I

In the modification Fig. 11in place of extending-the brine inlet pipe'down to the lower end of'the'internal freezing member 62001 respondingto the members-24L of Fig. 5, a central partition 63 is inserted in theinterior chamber of the internal freezing member 62 and the brinecirculated down around the lower end of said partition 63 and thence tothe outlet member 36. The member 62 is otherwise similar to the member24. Y

By or through the use of my improved freezing apparatus I amenabled toproduce a designated weight of ice employing onefourth of the freezingspace and equipmentas heretofore generally employed, due to thefreezingoperation proceeding from the interior outwardly as Well as fromthe exterior inwardly, and to provision of means for-conveniently andreliably carrying the operation forward, such as agitating the unfrozenwater, the removal of the core-water, the

withdrawal of brine from the interior freezing member, the release ofthe interior freezing member, and the convenient supply of brine tosaidv interior freezing member.

The apparatus herein shown and described is capable ofconsidera-blemodification within the scope of the claims without departing from thespirit of my invention. i

What I claim is: I r

1. In combination a container fora body of water to be frozen providedwith a transverse channel across the bottomthereof an internal freezingmember detachably mounted in said'co-ntainer and in engagement with saidtransverse channel to position said internalfreezing member relative tosaid container, means to circulate a freezing medium to and from saidinternal freezing member, said freezing member being tapered inwardlyand downwardly from the upper end toward the lower end of the containerand adapted to be detached and removed from the container before thefreezing operation is completed.

"2. In combination a container for a body of water to be frozen having anon-freezing'zone at the bottom thereof exposed to the atmosphere and aconduit through which water and air may be introduced into saidcontainer,

means to apply arefrigerant exteriorly to the side walls of saidcontainer, an internal freezing membermeans atthe top'of the containerwhereby said internal member is detachablyseated in said containerduring a portion of the freezing operation and adapted to be detachedand removed upwardlyfrom said 0011- tainer beforethe freezing operationhas been completech said internal freezing member causing a core'spaceto be formed within the container at each side'thereof eachcommunicating withsaidnon-freezing zone at the lower end thereof, and aremoval space formed by the removal of said internal freezing membercommunicating at its lower end with said non-freezing zone. I I p 3. Anartificial'ice' making container to hold abody of fresh water to befrozen and to have a refrigerantapplied externally to the" wallsthereof, said container having a channel traversing the bot-tom thereofadapted to engage the lowerend of an internal freezing member mounted'insaid container and'detachable and removable upwardly from saidcontainer; 4. In an ice making apparatus the combination of an ice(32111,Of means submitting a freezing medium to the exterior walls ofsaid can and providing a non-freezing zone at the bottom of the can, thebottom of the 'can'being exposed ;to .the atmosphere; conduit meansthrough which 'supplywater and agitating air are admittedto the canand'through which core water is drained therefrom, an internalfreezingmember removable from the top of the can and adapted uponadmission of a freezing medium thereto to eflect freezing fromthe'interior of the can outwardly simultaneously with the freezing fromthe exterior inwardly for providing a removal space and a core waterspace on each side thereof and evacuation through said conduit means andsubsequent filling through said conduit .IIIQZIIIS. V

5. As a new article of manufacture'an internal freezing member for usewith ice making apparatus comprising a downwardly taperinghollowpartition-like member for insertion-in an ice can, means providing forthe circulation of: a freezing medium therein, and a fin memberextending across the edge thereof and providing a relativelynon-freezing 'e xtension on the bottom of said member.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature. r V

GEORGE L. POWNALL.

